Evolution
by ToothFairy
Summary: There's a lot more to Michelle Dessler than meets the eye. This is the story of her life, from her first memories to her last moments.
1. Chapter 1

_This is the first chapter of three (the next one should be up in a week tops if all goes well). I'm not entirely sure if it works, I've never written a fic like this before… I really took time to observe Michelle's actions and reactions for this, and something kept telling me that she never had it easy (every time I watch that scene where she says to Tony, "He's my brother…", I always get the feeling that Danny is all she really has – until she meets Tony of course, lol). Anyway, it's just a feeling, but I decided to follow my instinct for this story. Please feel free to tell me what you think!_

Michelle Dessler was only three years old on the day that her father picked his last fight with her mother, stormed out of the apartment and disappeared from the face of the earth. And even though she was the younger of the two children he left behind, she was the one who remembered him while her brother didn't.

She asked about him once, only once. It was hardly more than a week later; she and Danny were playing outside in the yard. She ran back into the house to ask for popsicles, but when she found her mother in the bedroom, she forgot and asked something else instead.

"Mommy, where's Daddy?"

Lois Dessler looked down at her toddler, wondering what it was about the child that always made her feel like she was talking to a teenager instead of a three-year-old. While her son would forever remind her of the unstable, unpredictable man she had married only because she was pregnant, her daughter was already growing into a complete stranger that resembled neither her nor her husband in the least. And in some ways, that was even more terrifying.

"Daddy's gone," she said curtly, turning so she wouldn't have to face those big, solemn eyes, "And he's not coming back."

And little as she was, Michelle found she wasn't at all surprised.

She was four when her mother met Richard Bodson, a well-known tax attorney. It didn't take her long to catch on to the fact that he was nothing like her father, the exact opposite in fact – wealthy, well-educated, rational, calm, distant.

He quickly clashed with Danny, who, at six, was becoming increasingly impossible each day.

"All that boy of yours needs is a little discipline, Lois," he'd say, his voice booming through the apartment, and both children quickly came to hate that voice.

But after less than a year, Richard stopped trying to handle Danny in any shape or form, claiming that "the kid was hopeless". And since Lois had given up on her son long before that, the task of keeping Danny under control was now subtly placed on Michelle's tiny shoulders.

The two of them started to withdraw from their mother even before the arrival of Richard and Lois's first and only child, Kirsten, when Michelle was seven and Danny nine – though they would both always privately feel that the birth of their younger half-sister was what made it irreversible.

The baby was worshipped since she let out her first cry, and rapidly became the centre of the entire household. Richard adored her, and as usual, Lois followed suit. And as their world revolved around the wellbeing of their precious little daughter, they failed to notice that both Danny and Michelle were growing into adolescents.

Danny became bigger, stronger, and – if possible – even more unmanageable. His grades were awful, and no amount of pleading from Michelle made him even try to do anything about them. Other than that, though, he was having a pretty good time in high school – hanging with his buddies, getting drunk, cutting class…

"I could go on like this forever," he'd tell his sister when she asked him if he didn't want something more from his life, "I wouldn't care."

It was Michelle who wanted out, who wanted to leave it all behind and meet the world. She had grown quieter over the years, though she had a mean-streak that occasionally surfaced when she was pushed too far into a corner. But her gentle nature hid the restlessness she felt inside, the unshakable suspicion that there was something out there for her, and she was missing it.

Unable to mirror herself to her mother, she started wondering about her father, something she kept to herself for a long time before finally spilling her guts to Danny. She got up her courage and asked him if he ever felt the urge to look their father up.

"Our _father_?" Danny said in disgust, "Michelle, he's the bastard who _left_ us, remember? I mean, Mom's not the greatest parent either but at least she didn't _leave_ us."

She was so crushed by her brother's reaction that she never brought it up again. But that didn't stop her from secretly wondering. Secretly wanting.

To everyone's surprise, Danny somehow managed to get into the California State University, and did relatively well there. And despite all the grief he had been giving her since they were kids, Michelle found herself missing him desperately. She sensed the relief in Richard and even in her mother that Danny was finally out of the house, and although she had to admit that things were a lot easier with him gone, she still resented them for it.

When it was time for her to pack up and leave for college, she was more than ready. Her half-sister came into her room the evening before she would leave for the dorms. At eleven, Kirsten was already rapidly entering puberty, or so she thought.

"Oh my gosh, Michelle, now that you're leaving, I'll be like… like an only child!" she cried out, almost dramatically.

Michelle looked at her and thought, _Honey, you always were an only child_, but just smiled a little and didn't say anything.

In college, her world went open. For the first time since her father left, now fifteen years ago, her life finally felt _right_. She got over her shyness, allowed herself to go to parties and on dates – without, of course, letting her schoolwork suffer. Allowed herself to have fun, feel good about herself.

She had a couple of boyfriends, some lasting longer than others. They were all nice guys who went out of their way to make her laugh, but somehow she could never picture herself actually shacking up with them and starting a family. While all her girl friends complained that their boyfriends were afraid of settling down, Michelle was starting to fear that in her case, _she_ was the one with the commitment issues.

"I don't know, maybe there's something wrong with me," she finally confessed to her best friend, Erica, after her latest break-up with Brian Hamlin, a guy her friends had all been swooning over since the minute they met him, telling her how lucky she was.

"Nah," Erica assured her, "There's nothing wrong with you. You just haven't met _the guy_, that's all."

Michelle smiled, grateful for her friend's faith in her normalcy, but she didn't voice what she was starting to become truly afraid of – that her father had taken away any shot she had at a normal relationship the day he walked out.

When Danny got married, she told herself to stop being ridiculous; if _he_ was capable of commitment, surely she was too. And she honestly admired Judith's courage for trying to make it work with someone like Danny. Michelle knew out of experience that living with him wasn't always easy, despite the fact that he seemed happier than ever.

Their first child, Zachary, was born shortly after Michelle graduated from college, and she became a very proud aunt/godmother. The second would follow two years later, a daughter this time, whom they called Haley.

Meanwhile, Michelle was working at Division Los Angeles, where she was content. Although the hours were long and often exhausting, she liked the work and felt she was finally doing something about the unfairness of the world. Her job pretty much dominated her social life, so she told herself she had a solid excuse for not having a boyfriend when someone teased her about that.

When Danny ran off with Carrie Turner, his kids were five and three, the same age as he and Michelle had been when their father took off. And as much as she tried to push the thought away, Michelle couldn't help remembering her brother's words from a few months before. Judith had been at work, and she and Danny, who had the day off, were watching the kids play.

"Look at 'em," Danny had suddenly said affectionately, "They're just like us. That's us when we were kids."

She had laughed and argued that Zach had curly hair and Haley had straight hair, while with them it was the other way around. And Danny had smiled a little and said, "You know what I mean."

Michelle told herself that her brother would never, ever turn his back on his kids the way their father had done to them – he loved them too much. But when he got fired, lost his battle for joint-costody and was dumped by Carrie all in the same week, he snapped. He swallowed down every pill he could get his hands on, and was nearly in a coma when Michelle found him sprawled across the kitchen floor a few hours later.

She took him in after that, fed him, let him lean on her like she had long ago when they were little and Richard had tried to bully him into submission. There was no one else. His ex-wife was still furious and refusing to speak to him. Lois had visited him in the hospital only once, and had stayed for about fifteen minutes. Kirsten kept promising she'd come see him but never actually showed up – not that he was surprised or, indeed, cared much. So it was once again Michelle who ended up having to deal with his misery.

And, gradually, Danny landed back on his feet – or as much on his feet as he would ever get. Michelle helped him find a job and an apartment, all the while desperately seeking for a new job of her own. He remained bitter and clingy though, and this resulted in them fighting much more than they used to.

By the time she was offered the position at CTU Los Angeles, Michelle had long given up on anything that even remotely resembled love. She had watched too many marriages fall apart to be able to believe in such things. She could only conclude that she had probably been lucky to escape the pretence of it.

So one might say that, when Michelle Dessler first walked into the CTU bullpen one particularly cold morning in September, she was in for the surprise of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

_Other than announcing that this is, in fact, chapter two, and thanking all the wonderful people who reviewed chapter one, I don't really have anything interesting to say, so I decided to throw in a little disclaimer since I **always** forget that part… So here it goes (long, meaningful pause): I do not own Fox or 24._

_There! I feel better already! lol :D_

As much as she would deny it, Michelle Dessler was absolutely smitten by Tony Almeida since the first moment she laid eyes on him. So it was lucky for her that, besides that damned blush that always crept upon her cheeks when he spoke to her, she was good at hiding that sort of thing.

She sensed early on that he liked her, though she could never seem to figure out in what way because he kept sending her mixed signals. And when she thought about it, she couldn't really signify the difference between the way he acted around her and the way he acted around all the other young women working at CTU, and this just made her angry and frustrated and… well, sad.

And then there was that pain in his eyes that told her he had been through much more than she had originally given him credit for. More than once, she felt the urge to ask him what it was, but she always got the feeling that he wouldn't want to discuss it with her, and – afraid of scaring him off – she stayed quiet.

It was George Mason who informed Michelle of Tony's relationship with Nina Myers, and in his usual sarcastic manner at that. When she gaped at him, George laughed and mocked her, "What, you didn't know? C'mon, Michelle, where've you been for the past four months?"

Suddenly, his behavior made a lot more sense. And, as much as it pained her, she came to accept that with his past the chances of them ever getting together were even slimmer than she'd anticipated. His faith in love was probably even more shattered than hers was.

She would never know for sure what possessed her to ask him out. And from the moment he agreed, she wasn't herself for the rest of the day, and God knows it was a long one. She broke down in front of him when she hadn't cried in the presence of another person since she was eight years old. She kissed him when Danny and Carrie had just given her a live demonstration that true love was all just a horrible misunderstanding. She reached for his hand in the holding room while they were facing treason charges. And in the years to come, she could only be grateful that she had done all those things.

Their relationship became serious really fast, probably too fast. Before she even had time to realize it, Michelle had fallen hopelessly and passionately in love with Tony Almeida. He gradually took away the unease inside her. He made her free.

He told her he loved her after one month. At two months, he told her he trusted her. At three, he took her to meet his family.

"They're a little… Well, let's just say you don't come across people like them every day," he warned her, making her more nervous than she already was.

But as it turned out, Santiago and Barbara Almeida were thrilled that their middle son was finally bringing a girl home after all this time. Their two other boys had both gotten married years ago and now had two kids each, so it was needless to say that Tony's parents absolutely adored Michelle from the moment she stepped into their home.

Santiago was born in Spain but his parents had brought him and his sisters to the US before he was even a year old. His father started a restaurant that quickly became very successful. It provided them with enough money to live comfortably and for young Santi to have a good, solid education and eventually go to college to become a doctor.

Barbara was an all-American girl, having grown up in the streets of Princeton, New Jersey. Wanting something different from her life, she decided to go to college way across the country in California, where she met and fell in love with Santi Almeida.

They had three sons over a period of three years: Robert, Anthony and Joseph, or – as most everyone called them – Bobby, Tony and Joey. They grew up very differently from Michelle and Danny; they were encouraged to make noise and get dirty. They were encouraged to live out their childhood the way it ought to be lived.

And even now, Santi and Barbara ran quite a household, with Tony's ninety-year-old paternal grandmother (who didn't speak a word of English but still managed to fall head of heals in love with Michelle) living with them and making their lives a lot more interesting than they probably should have been. Years ago, they had also taken in Tony's cousin Gloria, who was dealing with a teen-pregnancy and had fled her parents' house in Chicago to go live with her aunt and uncle and cousins. Gloria's daughter, Ana, was now sixteen and a sophomore in high school, but neither of them had budged from their home with Santi and Barbara, or had any desire to.

Michelle was eagerly welcomed into the family, who all quickly grew to love her like she was already officially part of the Almeida-clan. And sometimes, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous when she saw the loving environment Tony had been brought up in. She started to worry about what he would think of her family. How could she take him to meet Richard and Lois when she knew he wouldn't be getting any of the warmth and hospitality he took for granted?

The only relative of hers he'd met was Danny, and although they'd gotten off on a rocky start, her brother was finally beginning to accept that Tony would be around for at least a while. Tony handled Danny in the exact opposite way of Michelle – when Danny yelled, Tony yelled back.

"I don't care how much he's been through, Michelle, it doesn't give him the right to treat you like that," he argued when she begged him to go easy on her brother, "You deserve some respect."

And although she had initially feared that this would only make it worse, Danny seemed to inexplicably appreciate Tony's temper, much to her surprise.

When Tony proposed, Michelle knew she would have to introduce him to her mother, stepfather and half-sister sooner or later, and that it would probably be better for everyone if it happened before the wedding.

Tony had always known she had very little contact with the three of them, and had already coaxed her into telling him her reasons. So when they headed over to the Bodson house to invite them to the wedding, he was already very much aware that the people Michelle had grown up with were nothing like his own crazy family. She was anxious and jumpy all morning, and he could tell she despised having to sacrifice their day off for this.

"It'll be fine," he tried to assure her, "You'll see. I'm gonna be so charming you won't even recognize me." She smiled a little at that and rolled her eyes.

Kirsten opened the door and shrieked as she flung her arms around Michelle and then around Tony. And much to Michelle's disbelief and annoyance, she wouldn't stop flirting with him for the rest of the day, despite the fact that he clearly wasn't interested and even a little irritated.

Richard came over to introduce himself, offered them a drink, but then lost interest – which was exactly what Michelle had predicted (and warned Tony) he'd do. But she was pleasantly surprised that her mother did seem to find her husband-to-be worthy of some attention. Lois sat quietly, sipping her tea while she listened and asked about plans for the wedding.

"You seem happy," she told Michelle after Tony had excused himself to go to the bathroom.

And Michelle could only nod, smile a little and say, "I am."

On her wedding day, it was Tony's mother who helped her get ready, aided by her daughters-in-law and Gloria. She had just sent the three women out of the room to check if everything – including Tony – was ready, and was telling a very nervous Michelle that no bride had ever looked more beautiful, when Lois walked in. And for the rest of her life, Michelle would never forget the look on her mother's face upon seeing her daughter being prepared for the most important event of her life, by another woman.

The wedding was sweet, the honeymoon sweeter and the marriage, if possible, even sweeter than that. Despite their differences and an occasional argument here and there, Michelle found herself happier than she had ever thought she could be. It was almost too good to be true.

So she didn't understand the sudden longing she once again felt to see her father. She thought she had let that go years ago. But now that she was happily married and had found the harmonious family-life he had disturbed so long ago with his departure, she wanted to see him. She wanted _him_ to see _her_.

Tony was reluctant when she first brought it up. He knew that her father's absence had deeply affected her as a child, and although he was aware that if she were to find him it might provide her with some kind of closure, he couldn't help but fear that the man might just leave her with an even greater heartache.

But after seeing how much she wanted it, he decided to support her in whatever she decided to do. With his security clearance, it didn't take him long to track down Carl Dessler. When he handed over the address and phone number, she waited more than a week before sitting down on the couch one evening after work, taking a deep breath and reaching for the phone. She let it ring exactly twice, then placed the phone back on its hook and slowly turned to face Tony, who was sitting next to her.

"I don't think I can do this," she whispered.

Immediately, he set his coffee mug down on the table and wrapped an arm around her protectively, pulling her close and saying softly, "Okay. You don't have to. Whenever you're ready."

She smiled gratefully, blinked away a few tears and hid the paper with the address on it somewhere she knew she wouldn't accidentally stumble across it. She didn't bring it up again. Knowing it was a possibility was enough for now.

When Tony was arrested, she suddenly had much more pressing difficulties to deal with. In contrary to what she'd initially feared, Tony's family loyally stuck by her instead of blaming her for being the reason he was behind bars. She believed Barbara's exact words had been, "Well honey, you're his wife, of course he picked you."

She remained fiercely devoted to him while he was in prison, went to visit him whenever she could, wrote him almost every day, even from Seattle. And despite the obvious signs that he was withdrawing both from her and from the outside world, she refused to give up. She forced herself to believe that once the pardon came through and he was released, he would be himself again and they could pick up were they left off.

Only fate was not so kind. The anger came even before the booze – at least she thought so because in the midst of all the chaos, she wasn't even sure anymore. He seemed to have multiple personalities, all drunks: one was brooding and sulking, one was ranting and raging, and one was ignoring and disappearing on her. This last one was by far the worst, because every time he stayed away, she was strangled with fear that he wouldn't be back. She couldn't shake the terrifying suspicion that one of these days he would leave her for good, just like she had watched the other important men in her life turn their backs on their marriages.

And she decided she would not give him that satisfaction. Raindrops mingled with her tears on the day that Michelle Dessler packed her bags and walked away from the only love she had ever known.


	3. Chapter 3

_Voila, the conclusion… My apologies for letting Michelle die, but I really didn't see any other way to end this. I hate it just as much as you do, believe me! Just… try and enjoy this chapter a little anyway, okay? lol_

Nothing could have prepared Michelle Dessler for life without her husband. She was lost, confused, delirious with pain and guilt – and anger, so much anger. Half the time she actually had herself convinced that she hated him. The other half, she hated herself.

On the outside she gave the impression of being in control, but the truth was that she was falling, falling fast, and she had no idea how to stop. She sought refuge in her work; for once she was grateful for the long days. Other than that, she barely came out of her apartment. She pushed away everything and everyone that reminded her of him, simply because it was the only way she could cope. The only person she saw on a regular basis was Danny, because – let's face it – there was no way he was going to put her problems above his own.

She deliberately stayed away from Tony's family, figuring that if they didn't hate her _now_, they were just plain nuts. But then her sister-in-law (well, ex-sister-in-law – the one that was married to Tony's older brother Bobby) called her one afternoon, and, after a lot of coaxing, convinced her to get together for lunch the next day. Diane must have sensed Michelle's reluctance to discuss Tony because she didn't even hint at it – she was soothing and supportive, gently insisting that the two of them should remain friends regardless of what happened. They continued to meet for lunch once every few weeks after that, and Michelle found that it was one of the few things she had left to look forward to in her life.

Dating was the last thing on her mind when Bill Buchanan asked her out. She had been too busy trying to forget about Tony to even notice Bill had feelings for her. And although the voice of reason inside her screamed that it was a bad idea, she impulsively agreed – a decision she would soon regret.

There was nothing wrong with Bill; he was sweet and caring, perhaps a little dull, but without a doubt a good man. But Michelle couldn't allow him to come too close, and he must have felt it because he never once tried to kiss her or even hold her hand. On their third date, he made to wrap his jacket around her shoulders, causing her to reflexively draw away with a quickness that startled herself as well as him. And when she saw the hurt and confusion on his face, she knew she couldn't do this to him anymore. She tried to explain, tried to tell him it had nothing to do with him, but he just calmly shushed her.

"You don't have to say anything, Michelle." He smiled sadly. "I understand."

The next time she got together with Diane, two weeks later, she got up her courage and bluntly asked how Tony was doing smack in the middle of dessert. If Diane was surprised, she didn't show it. She just put her fork down, sighed and said, "Well… We think he's drinking less, but we can't really say for sure because he won't talk about it. He shuts us out, he won't tell us where he's living; he won't even see us half the time. Barbara's worried sick, Santi doesn't know _what_ the hell to think, and Bobby and Joey are just plain mad."

Michelle nodded and lowered her eyes. She'd suspected as much. She took a deep breath but still hesitated before asking, "Is he…?" She couldn't finish.

"Seeing someone?" Diane suggested gently, guessing correctly what the second half of the question was going to be. Michelle nodded, and Diane sighed again. "I don't know, Michelle. I don't think so, but… We just don't know."

She was nearing the limit of her sanity when Tony showed up in her life again, and – as she learned later – so was he. She willingly allowed him back into her home, her bed and her heart. She abandoned her job for him without looking back, and she couldn't help but feel surprised that she didn't miss District, didn't get restless like she'd feared she would. He was enough for her.

It still took her several weeks to tell him the real reason she had left. She was afraid he would be upset that she had compared him to her father and Danny – that she had actually managed to believe that he would pull the same stunt and walk out on her. She apologized profusely for ever thinking that, but he gently stopped her with a soft finger to her lips.

"Michelle… you're right, I never would have left you. But if I let you doubt that, then that's my fault. Not yours."

They were remarried five months after their reunion, this time inviting only their immediate family and closest friends. And seeing everyone that mattered to them there – laughing, enjoying themselves and so very happy for them – was more than they could ever ask for.

After Tony tried (this time with all the effort he had in him) and still failed to find a job that was worth anything, Michelle came up with the brilliant idea of starting up their own security company together. It seemed almost impossibly difficult at first, but his stubbornness and her determination always kept them on the right track.

All was going well when, unexpectedly, Michelle's mother died. It happened peacefully – a stroke in the middle of the night – and Michelle told herself that this was life and that she hadn't been close to her mother anyways. She and Tony took care of most of the arrangements for funeral, since Richard didn't seem to know what was expected of him, Kirsten was too busy feeling sorry for herself and Danny couldn't be trusted with these kinds of things even when he was willing, which in this case he wasn't. She didn't shed a tear throughout the entire ceremony, much to the concern of Tony, who was starting to worry about her inability to mourn her mother, knowing her well enough to suspect that it would return with a vengeance later.

He was right. It was more than a week after the burial; she was on her way to the kitchen to get an apple when, suddenly and out of nowhere, the tears finally came, accompanied by a thousand memories and emotions she hadn't even realized were still inside her. Tony came as she knew he would, took her in his arms and silently comforted her while she cried. She didn't know how long they sat there like this, but long enough for her to feel embarrassed once she'd calmed down.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, fingering the collar of his shirt and avoiding his gaze, "I don't know why I'm doing this. I spent most of my life resenting her for not being there when I needed her… and now, I just…" She shook her head and repeated, "I don't know why…"

He held her face between his hands and forced her to meet his eyes. "Because she was your mother," he told her gently, "That's why."

She didn't answer, and he knew she just needed some time.

The next day, Tony was in the shower when suddenly Michelle came out of nowhere and stepped in beside him. Before he had time to react, she placed her arms around his neck and leaned against his chest as her face found the hollow in his neck. He wordlessly hugged her close, and for the longest time they just stood there like that, in an embrace with hot water beating down on both their naked bodies.

She was more herself again after that.

A few weeks later, after a lot of pondering the possibilities, Michelle retrieved the little piece of paper with her father's address on it while Tony was out grocery shopping. For the first time since that evening years ago when she hadn't been able to go through with calling him, she was seriously considering getting in touch with her long-lost father. By the time she let Tony in on her plans, her mind was made up.

"I've wanted this all my life," she told him, "But I don't want to do it over the phone. I'll just chicken out every time, you know I will."

She couldn't say that she recognized him, exactly, but she still knew from the moment he opened the door that this was the man she had once, long ago, called Daddy. She could tell by his hair, the curls she realized at an early age she must have inherited from him because no one on Lois's side of the family had them. His voice, that – when he queried, "Can I help you?" – unmistakably reminded her of Danny's.

She didn't know how she ever managed to stutter out her who she was, but, as she thought back later, it probably had something to do with Tony's hand supportively squeezing her shoulder. At first Carl Dessler seemed stunned at the sight of the now grown-up little girl he had walked away from thirty years ago, but then apparently pulled himself together and hesitantly asked them in.

The conversation was a little awkward, but not as tension-filled as it could have been, Michelle decided. Carl asked her how she was, what she did for a living, if she needed anything. He seemed happy at the fact that his daughter had managed to find the inner peace he himself had long given up even trying to look for, though it was a guarded kind of happiness – as if he wasn't even sure he was allowed to feel anything for her after the despicable way he abandoned her when she was hardly more than a baby.

It was quite a while before Carl dared to ask about Lois, after having thoroughly covered Michelle and Danny. His guts twisted when he was informed that the only wife he'd ever had, was gone. He got up his courage, took a deep breath and told the beautiful young woman his daughter had become what he'd sworn to himself he'd say if he was ever lucky enough to lay eyes on one of his children again.

"It was your mother I couldn't be with anymore, Michelle, not you kids. But I was impulsive, and irresponsible… I just figured you were better off without me." He shook his head, and when he continued, his voice was barely audible. "Maybe it was just an excuse, I don't know…"

When Michelle left her father's house, she felt emotional but elated, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The dark dragon of not knowing that had been worming inside her ever since she was a child had now finally been soothed to sleep.

She briefly seriously considered the possibility of children after that. She knew that at thirty-four, she wasn't getting any younger, and neither was Tony, who was almost forty-one. And although she liked kids, adored Danny's and Tony's brothers', the thought of her own scared her out of her wits.

Maybe it was because every time she looked at Tony, she was reminded of how vulnerable you become when you have to depend on that kind of love to live happily. If they decided to add a baby to their comfortable little cocoon, there would be twice the amount to worry about, twice the amount to protect, twice the amount of bad things that could happen. And she wasn't sure if she was up to that.

At first Tony was confused when she told him her fears, refusing to see her point, _wanting _those beautiful, curly-haired children he'd been seeing in his dreams ever since he met her. But then he painfully admitted that he knew where she was coming from, that with their past they were too fragile to survive if anything ever happened to their son or daughter. With what they had to lose, it was probably best if they protected themselves from any more potential pain.

Still, on the morning that Michelle Dessler walked out to her car with her husband's eyes following her every move, she was starting to think that they were wrong – that she just might want that child anyway.


End file.
